Daisy, you experienced this phenomenon recently, and I did too years ago. Also it was a feature of the recent heavy snowfall in the US. In this case, the precipitation falls as snow and not the usual rain:

Why is there sometimes thunder in a snowstorm?

Thunder and lighting sometimes happen in a snowstorm, although it is somewhat rare, said Fred Gadomski, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University. In fact, he said, the biggest snowstorm are those marked by thunder and lightning, a phenomenon meteorologists call "thunder snow."

Most "regular" thunderstorms are summer events in which warm, moist air in the lower atmosphere has very cold air over it, Mr. Gadomski said. In this unstable system, upward drafts of air create thunderstorms.

The turbulence created by such a storm somehow establishes a separation of areas of positive and negative electrical charges, Mr. Gadomski said, and when a lightning bolt tries to even out the difference, there is a clap of thunder. Thunder, he explained, is the sound generated when the lightning bolt heats the atmosphere near it very rapidly to a temperature higher than the sun's surface. The fast expansion of the air creates a sonic boom, he said.

But the vertical division of temperatures and the high moisture at lower levels that typically lead to storms with thunder and lightning are rare in winter, Mr. Gadomski said. Only in the most powerful winter storms is there such an immense pool of very cold air above warmer, moister air at ground level.

Thunderstorms with snow are more likely to occur near the coast, he said, because the storm can form over the comparatively warm water of the ocean and move inland, meeting much colder conditions.

"Then the rain thunderstorm becomes a snow thunderstorm, or thunder snow," he said.

Great pix Aileen ... poor squirrels. I was wondering just how many birds are going to perish as a result of the recent weather. I have a triple feeder which looks like the following as well as a couple of peanut feeders and there have been up to 100 birds at a time, some of them waiting their turn on the fence/wall/ground. I also scatter extra sunflower seeds, nuts and bread on the ground. Poor things.

^^ Daisy, what a lovely idea, and I can just imagine all those hungry birds lining up for a feed! I remember one snowy winter putting bread out for the birds in my parents' garden and this horrible big blackbird sat on a wall and kept and chasing the smaller birds away. Greedy bully!

As for the squirrels, I'm sure the staff at the Botanical Gardens made sure they didn't suffer, and the birds too.

It's been piddling down here, all day. On the plus side, I can actually see the road is still there after being covered, more or less, with snow, for the better part of a month. It's very slippy out there, so I am in here packing boxes ... got 2 done!